That was yet another rather interesting edition to the Montreal Fireworks Competition, not just in terms of the competition itself, but with respect to the weather. In the grander scheme of things, it was a thrill just to see the competition still thriving, and we must keep reminding ourselves just how lucky we are to have these displays altogether. That being said, I continue to be concerned by the lower attendance yet again this year, and even lower than the inaugural year last year following the COVID-19 pandemic. In year’s case, it is likely that the poor attendance this year was an artifact of frequently poor weather conditions on fireworks days, mostly Thursday scheduling, and in La Ronde’s case, continued high admission costs. Even when the weather was good, attendance remained quite low, as represented by the relative ease of being able to navigate through the spectators. As such, following the pandemic, this still did not quite feel like a true restoration of the competition, which I had expressed last year at the end of the competition.
This year’s edition itself was nevertheless quite enjoyable. The displays exhibited qualities that all made them engaging in their own respective way, with some obviously more than others. We were able to see at least a decent range of creativity/complexity among the in-competition shows, though it was quite surprising to see that themes used this year across displays were fairly light and not very explorative.
As mentioned, the weather pattern was quite interesting in itself, but in a hazardous manner. Analyzing this competition’s weather for what is now 20 years, I have never seen such a dedicated stormy pattern like what was observed this year. As such, there is naturally quite a bit that should be noted and addressed here.
This year’s edition of Montreal Fireworks firstly faced the ongoing smoke hazards from the Quebec forest fire situation in Northern Quebec early in the fireworks period, with rainfall and principally thunderstorm threats taking over beyond that. Often, extensive smoke concentrations would be circulated farther South into these regions enough that Smog Warnings would appear during mid-June to early-July – sometimes so concentrated that one can smell the odor of the smoke. In response, on June 29th, the very first cancellation in this competition’s history occurred (outside the total cancellations induced by the pandemic). Indeed, the smog that was driven largely by the smoke accumulations prompted a cancellation of the opening show.
Then, in sharp contrast with last year (and all other years in this competition’s history), more display days than usual met with rainfall. However, it was not just the rainfall - it was the extent to which this rainfall was accompanied by thunderstorms on fireworks days, either in the (near-) distance, or in the area directly. Ironically, a large part of this observed increased in rainfall/thunderstorm threats on fireworks days was attributable to a shift in fireworks days a day forward in this year’s situation, from Wednesday to Thursday, and even the single Sunday representing a day-later shift from the usual Saturdays. For that reason, July 6th, July 13th, July 30th, August 3rd, and now what is likely to be August 10th (a whopping 5 out 8 displays days) faced hazardous weather conditions, and in some cases violently. Granted, the Thursdays did save some displays from poor weather situations, such as the afternoon to early-evening thunderstorms of July 26th missing the Canadian display a day later, and the Belgian display narrowly missing the July 21st predawn severe thunderstorms/heavy rainfall (although those severe thunderstorms largely missed greater Montreal). Part of this highly unusual wet pattern, too, was the increase in severe weather this late-Spring and Summer so far – indeed, this July was the wettest July (and one of the wettest months) for the island of Montreal in recorded history.
An isolated distant thunderstorm family first appeared in the distance during the late-afternoon to early-evening of July 6th, around Napierville, with lightning appearing fairly frequently in the Southern skies at the time. A week later, on July 13th, Severe Thunderstorm Watches and Warnings, accompanied by several Tornado Warnings, guided what was the scariest severe weather situation to appear on a fireworks day in this competition’s history. Then, on July 30th, an isolated strong thunderstorm family affected the West Island-Vaudreuil corridor during the late-afternoon to early-evening, followed by newer isolated thunderstorms that again affected that corridor but also farther East to capture greater Montreal; this July 30th late-evening thunderstorm led to significant rainfall on the island, and only very shortly after the American display. Then, on August 3rd, Severe Thunderstorm Watches and Warnings once more made an appearance, and this time for the Finnish display day with a much closer call than the July 13th case. Everyone watching anxiously, thunderstorms exploded over the central part of the island and South before becoming more organized with eastward progression near sunset to early-evening August 3rd. This was followed by more isolated thunderstorms shortly after the display. At the same time, this was the first time in this competition’s history that consecutive fireworks days (July 30th and August 3rd) had thunderstorms on fireworks days, including with respect to happening so closely around display time.
Fortunately, and extremely luckily, all of these affected display days managed to be affected by no more than a (brief) light rain or even drizzle during actual display time, including on July 30th and August 3rd (albeit more persistent on July 30th during the first 10 minutes). The winds were also thankfully generous in both speed and direction with respect to the La Ronde audience, with only the Portuguese display resulting in smoke moving towards this audience as a result of the WSW tendencies. The warmest and most humid fireworks day belonged to July 6th, which was also the warmest day overall this year for the island so far.
I also take this opportunity to thank Paul for keeping this forum/website alive, especially now reaching this special 20th anniversary of the forum, as well as for taking the time to provide us with very interesting inside information concerning each display through the interviews! I similarly extend my thanks to Mylene for all of her work in bringing us in-depth information concerning the displays! Many thanks to Fred, too, for kindly sharing with us his full-length videos of the displays from on-site, and to everyone altogether for sharing their reviews/comments of the displays (and in other discussions), despite the quieter nature of this year! Finally, I would like to thank all organizers and setup crews for their diligent and hard work to prepare all displays for us to see every fireworks evening.
Below are summaries that ‘broadly’ describe what I thought were the strengths and weaknesses of each of the six in-competition displays. This is then followed by my jury predictions and personal choices for the winners, and then miscellaneous rankings for other display attributes.
Country: Ukraine
Company: Dance of Fire
Date of presentation: July 6th, 2023
Winds remained breezy from the SSW under the warmest (27 C) and most humid conditions this year during display time, blowing the smoke quickly clear to the right of the on-site audience.
Great effort for this inaugural performance by the Ukrainian team. Some interesting firing patterns appeared at several points of the show that really gave it some notable highlights for sequencing and effects, along with a good interplay of emotions, even though it carried with it a very simplistic design. This was also a very traditionally-fired display, with many of the patriotic colors appearing, as we would have expected from an approach like this. The theme also came across as light, as did practically all themes this year. The finale was also very short and left behind that feeling for something more to happen, especially since the show was aimed to at least partly showcase Ukrainian tenacity and endurance.
Country: Portugal
Company: Macedos Pirotechnia
Date of presentation: July 13th, 2023
Severe Thunderstorms and tornadoes made for a scary situation on this day. Thankfully, conditions improved significantly in time for the display. Under 21 C and moderate humidity, WSW winds, were quite breezy and pushing the smoke the most directly towards the audience this year.
Probably the most engaging display this year in light of the musical selection employed. This display also featured some interesting firing patterns and sequences that sometimes caught us off guard, especially since the audience was so often energized by the music. To that end, there was a fairly large amount of redundancy from one segment to the next, diminishing the extent of complexity in the show and subsequently losing musical distinction through the pyrotechnics. Some songs also lasted much longer than others, creating imbalance and perhaps neglected room for more songs. Possibly related to the previous thunderstorms, many sightings of asymmetry were present. The best finale was also present.
Country: Belgium
Company: HC Fireworks
Date of presentation: July 20th, 2023
Excellent weather conditions for this display, and also narrowly missing the heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms that would follow during predawn July 21st. The light ESE wind fields did create more problematic viewing for us on Notre-Dame, however, though to the benefit of those on-site. This was also the second warmest fireworks evening (25-26 C) under moderate humidity.
This was a really good overall demonstration of what a great pyromusical can look like. Fantastic use was made of most of the available space, and sometimes with some rather stunning sequences to represent the songs used. One of the most memorable aspects was the release of the fireballs to conclude “Great Balls of Fire”. As with previous displays, however, the thematic premise from “Legends” was not always so clear, and there were, to me, too many interruptions from quieter segments early in the display, leading to feelings of anti-climax and disproportion. Like with Portugal, some songs were used too extensively, such as “I Will Always Love You”, and drooping effects became much too frequent. The soundtrack itself was quite enjoyable and was among the most engaging. Wonderful finale, as well.
Country: Canada
Company: Hands Fireworks
Date of presentation: July 27th, 2023
The most humid conditions for a display were present for the Canadian show, along with the third warmest temperature (24 C). The humidity was concerning with respect to guiding thick smoke accumulations, but the winds were just strong enough to push the smoke clear to the right of the La Ronde audience.
The Canadian display brought much excitement, and indeed, it was actually one of the more exciting shows this year. I thought it was signature in the sense that it brought many awe-struck moments spent with glorious nautical shells, along with a welcomed higher density of shells, faster-paced sequences and beautiful product quality. Despite the very high humidity, the saturation of colors seemed to stand out in this display. However, again, the thematic meaning was elusive, and it was not always obvious that the selection of songs was relevant. Unfortunately, there were several dark moments, too, that gave the impression of some fairly significant technical issues. This may have also been associated with the moments of asymmetry observed along low-altitude. Not a bad a finale, but it was a bit too short and under too much of a monochromatic style for my taste.
Country: United States
Company: Rozzi’s Famous Fireworks
Date of presentation: July 30th, 2023
Thunderstorms made an appearance dangerously close to this display, both just before and after the show. The show itself had the most enduring (light) rainfall during any show this year (first ~10 minutes). Fortunately, the SSW winds displaced the smoke clear to the right of the La Ronde audience, though with high-altitude smoke moving towards far right-hand sections. Rain-cooled air guided the coolest temperature to occur during a display this year (17-18 C).
The show itself was one of the best this year. It relied on what has now becoming a fairly recurring theme of Rock. Like the Canadian show, we were treated with many rounds of nautical products, except that in this show, these sequences flowed even better with the music. The team also used a very delightful interplay between colors and effects, and there were many opportunities showcased here, for the second time this year, for many note-tight sequencing along low- to mid-level. Although the theme was light and fairly basically represented, it was the most tightly-fit theme and understood (along with Portugal’s “Tune In”) of all shows this year. Great use was made of the available space, and the color richness really dazzled the audience, along with many “Wow” moments during some interesting firing patterns that brought the skies to life. Ultimately, this created some of the best musical representations through the pyrotechnics that we have seen this year, and with yet another very engaging set of music that allowed the audience to become very immersive with the show. Surprisingly, the finale came across as disproportionately weak in the sense that it was broken up and not to the point.
Country: Finland
Company: JoHo Pyro
Date of presentation: August 3rd, 2023
Following Severe Thunderstorm Warnings appearing very close to display time, only some periods of light rain were present for this display, mostly towards in final minutes. At saturation, this was the second coolest fireworks display, under 18-19 C and high humidity. Light SSW winds mostly blew the large accumulations of smoke clear to the right of the La Ronde audience before turning more towards those on Notre-Dame Street for the final 10 minutes. Quite anxious, there was worry that these weather conditions could induce technical issues, especially with light striking so closely, the torrential rainfall, and locally strong downbursts coming from this strong thunderstorm family.
The Finnish really created something quite special, and (very) thankfully, the weather did not spoil it either directly or indirectly. The synchronization in this display was the most elaborate and sophisticated among all displays (though in my mind, only narrowly ahead of the American show), with a vibrant set of sequences of color and firing style that really produced some fine attempts for creating changes in emotion. The organization of the show was quite unique, too, especially with the approach taken to use previews of songs before the actual segments. The “Sound of Silence” ranked among some of the most emotional segments this year, along with Belgium’s “Can You Feel The Love Tonight”. Very fine use was made of the available space, and the variety of nauticals and palette of color were an extravaganza in themselves. Much like for Canada and Belgium, however, I felt like some songs were overused and, thus, could have allowed for additional songs to be squeezed in. Not only this, but I personally would have preferred the original versions of the songs incorporated here, which did take some enjoyment away for me. The theme was also not well understood, and so it did not always make sense in relation to the songs being used here. The finale, though, not under a rich diversity of color, appeared very strong and built to the right crescendo over the 63 seconds!
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Overall, the Belgian, American and Finnish displays stood out as the strongest, with Portugal’s “Tune In” coming in close behind for the Bronze, I think. As mentioned, there were many engaging displays this year, but all with surprisingly light themes consistently. Portugal and the United States carried the most tenacious themes, with Portugal’s probably being the most explorative while having a framework whose meaning was understood. Color richness was great across all displays, with Canada, the United States, and Finland showcasing the greatest color richness. However, this year struggled to extend these wonderful colors into finales more extensively. The finales themselves were mostly great, with Portugal’s being my personal favorite, followed by Belgium’s and Finland’s. Finland had the best pyromusical design, though I seemingly enjoyed the American one more because of the more engaging soundtrack there, and I felt like the United States had a more thematically-strong approach than did Finland.
As such, my jury predictions and personal choices for the winners look like the following:
Trav’s jury prediction:
1st: Finland
2nd: United States
3rd: Belgium
Trav’s personal choice:
1st: United States
2nd: Finland
3rd: Belgium
Green Achievement Award: ?
Best choice of music:
1. Portugal
2. United States
3. Belgium
Most intriguing effects:
1. Finland
2. United States
3. Belgium
Best quality products:
1. Finland
2. United States
3. Belgium
Highest color richness:
1. United States
2. Canada
3. Portugal
Best devised and represented theme:
1. Portugal
2. United States
3. Belgium
Best sequences:
1. Finland
2. United States
3. Belgium
Most powerful/energetic displays:
1. Canada
2. United States
3. Portugal
Best opening segment:
1. United States
2. Portugal
3. Canada
Top conclusions:
1. Portugal
2. Finland
3. Belgium
Trav.
